‘Police picked us up without saying anything’: Economist Jean Dreze detained from Jantar Mantar

Economist and activist Jean Dreze was among four people, including filmmaker Aban Raza, scholar and researcher Paran Amitava, and scholar and artist Anjali S, detained by Delhi Police near Jantar Mantar on Saturday. The group gathered with posters to participate in the Cockroach Janata Party protest, but the police arrived without warning.

Dreze, currently residing in Jharkhand, recounted that they had been speaking to the media and holding posters when the police intervened. Dreze expressed shock at the incident, noting that they had reached the location early and were merely standing there with posters. He questioned the extensive preventive measures taken ahead of the protest, alleging that they prevented people from reaching the venue.

Several others were unable to reach the protest site due to blocked roads. The police detained around 30 to 35 people, who Dreze claimed belonged to working-class and minority communities and had been mistreated. Shahid Hussain, who had traveled to Delhi for personal reasons, was also detained along with others who had come for unrelated purposes.